text:
Write Review
My Account
Manage Account
Compare Auto Repair Shops
out of
Reviews & Complaints
Most Popular
More Options >
More filter options:
Product/Service Quality
Repair Service
Customer Service
Share this page [+]
Posted by Kshaant on 01/16/2004
Email; email@example.com
My problems started when I cut a coupon from clipper magazine advertising MAACO auto paint from $ 249.95, on 10-20-30 I visited MAACO COLLISION REPAIR & AUTO PAINTING at 12250 S.W.. 117 court, Miami, fl 33186-5203. I showed them the first car Mercedes 190 E and mentioned if they do a good job I will bring my other 3 cars (MERCEDES 190E / MERCEDES 420SEL / TRANS-AM FIREBIRD / TOYOTA VAN) also to them for paint job. One thing did make me feel uneasy was the huge sign they had put NO CHECKS OR CREDIT CARDS CASH ONLY (I WILL UNDERSTAND LATER WHY THEY INSIST ON CASH ONLY).
On Mercedes 190 E they accepted the $249.95 coupon but immediately added $60 and told me it is a tax collected by Miami-Dade county AND IT IS THE LAW, they pointed to and circled the Florida statutes noted in fine print -S.559.904 (4) on the form which sounded VERY LEGAL at the time but following is actual print of the mentioned statutes and it has nothing to do with any tax IN PLAIN ENGLISH THEY ARE RIPPING PEOPLE OFF IN THE NAME OF A NON-EXISTING TAX AND BY GROSS- MIS-REPRESENTATION OF FLORIDA STATUTES. Of this so-called TAX they entered $ 30 in the materials & supply column and $ 30 in the sublet/env (what ever that means) column.
Title XXXIIIREGULATION OF TRADE, COMMERCE, INVESTMENTS, AND SOLICITATIONS Chapter 559REGULATION OF TRADE, COMMERCE, AND INVESTMENTS, GENERALLY View Entire Chapter
559.904 Motor vehicle repair shop registration; application; exemption.--
4) Copies of the applicant's estimate and invoice forms must accompany each initial application for registration. Copies of the applicant's estimate must accompany each renewal application for registration and invoice forms only if the original forms filed by the applicant are changed, altered, or revised. Such forms must comply with the applicable provisions of this act before a registration may be issued.
Later when I paid cash in full, the $ 30 was entered in sublet/towing column,( WHAT TOWING ? I DROVE THE CAR TO THEM I PICKED IT UP) which makes me, wonder are they playing around with cash currency to avoid taxes or cheat the I.R.S.???OR MAACO???? IS THIS MONEY LAUNDERING??? (A copy of this letter to I.R.S. Will decide). Then they suddenly realized it has rust in one part and added $ 50 to the estimate, by now $ 249.95 had ballooned to $ 385.14, if I hadn't stopped them with a strong no who knows how high the estimate might have gone.. Amazingly they painted the car in 6 hours (WHICH SPEAKS FOR ITSELF OF HOW MUCH QUALITY SHOULD I EXPECT IN 6 HOURS) and asked me to bring the other Mercedes 420 SEL and pick up the 190 E.. The 190 E looked normal its just that they painted everything black (one color) ---where ever the paint nozzle could reach they painted) I was expecting bumpers to be different color (GRAY) and I wrongly assumed MAACO is a WELL KNOWN company and they would know how to properly paint a Mercedes but because I did not specify 2-tone on the sales order - I did not complain and they said I have 2 year warranty so if any thing goes wrong I can bring it back.
On 10-21-03 I brought the Mercedes 420 SEL for a 2 tone (black & gray paint) and they said I should not do the $249.95 paint but use a better paint (ULTRA-URETHANE) with a 4 year warranty and it will have the NEW CAR WET LOOK and this and that they used lot of technical auto mumbo jumbo to convince me to AGREE for the expensive $ 399.95 paint, then they said I must get a extra CLEAR COAT FOR ANOTHER $100.00, next they said they have to paint the DOOR JAMS SO THEY ADDED ANOTHER $100, next they added another $200 for bodywork (150 for sunroof plus $50 for rear left door)(total up till now $949.95) & rust repair specially on a one inch part of the sunroof. They promised me they will cut the rusted piece and weld new metal part together, they asked about the rubber seal because as per their technician it would get burnt while welding the new metal piece so I said I will provide a new rubber seal at my expense. When I started to leave saying I will think about getting the car painted or not they lowered the price to $802.50, (including sales tax and the other FAKE tax) finally I agreed. Until 10-25-03 I did not get any call, so I visited and was shocked to see the top half of Mercedes 420 SEL painted black (as desired) but the bottom was painted a UGLY, WEIRD BLUE COLOR. It was a total mis-match and certainly not a Mercedes color, this is where ALEX GONZALEZ (a rude,obnoxious,arrogant person ) and who had written the sales order and who later I learned is the owner started huffing and puffing and dancing around the vehicle and screaming that it is not blue but original Mercedes gray, I offered to show the car to any human being of his choosing and if any person say it is gray and not blue ,I offered to take the car as it is. He went to his computer and realized some body at MAACO (or he himself) had painted the Mercedes a VOLVO BLUE. But When I re fused to pay any money, he back tracked and he agreed to correct the mistake, 3 days later the car was painted correct color. I had given them the original Mercedes sunroof rubber seal (COPY OF INVOICE ENCLOSED) which first they tried to push it in / force it in with various tools there by separating the two metal plates which holds the seal, broke the sunroof switch and scratched the newly painted sun roof then they tried to glue it in with white glue and lastly they cut the uncut one piece rubber seal rendering it useless ------by now they realized they messed up ---THEY HAD NEVER EVER WORKED ON A MERCEDES OR ITS SUNROOF AND DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PUT THE SEAL (IN REALITY ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS PUSH THE SEAL BY HAND SLOWLY IN THE GROOVE OPEN N CLOSE THE SUNROOF 8/10 TIMES AND SUNROOF AUTOMATICALLY WOULD PUSH THE SEAL IN BY ITSELF.) another of their salesman called me and requested / advised/ suggested/ warned me if I want my car I should take it to a Mercedes technician for the sunroof seal because MAACO cant fix it and they really don't know how to fix or paint a Mercedes.. They told me the car is not finished, there were scratches on the sunroof, wet paint marks around the door jams and a big smudge mark on the trunk so I should get the sun roof seal fixed, bring it back and they will repaint what ever needs to be done..
They would not release the car without full payment in cash so I paid cash and picked up my car on 10-30-03 and rushed to a master technician of Mercedes -KARLS AUTO REPAIR (MERCEDES SPECIALIST), 13807 S.W. 142 AVENUE, MIAMI, FL 33186 (305) 235-0507, who after inspecting the sunroof informed me they have BROKEN SOME PARTS (PLASTIC LINK ASSEMBLY AND SPRINGS) INSIDE THE SUNROOF BY TRYING TO FORCE THE RUBBER SEAL, SEPARATED TWO METAL PLATES WHICH NOW NEED TO BE WELDED AND DESTROYED THE SEAL BY USING GLUE ON IT AND BY CUTTING IT. NOW I UNDERSTOOD THIS IS WHY THEY WANTED THE PAYMENT IN CASH AND UP FRONT, I had to order ANOTHER SUNROOF SEAL AND SOME PARTS from MERCEDES BENZ OF MIAMI (COPY OF INVOICE ENCLOSED) and after getting the seal and sunroof fixed I took the car back to MAACO on 11-03-03 for them to finish the unfinished job. The salesman said I should let the paint dry for another week and bring it back next Monday (11-10-03) so I went back on 11-10-03 and they said it will be done next day or latest by Wednesday 11-12-03. I visited everyday from 11-10-03 until 11-14-03 when I asked ALEX GONZALEZ as to why nothing has been done in one week, first he rudely denied ever promising anything, however when I showed him in writing I had made a list of defects (before paying and picking the car) and a copy was in his records he said he will do the paint in next 3 days. I visited again on Monday the 11-17-03 and nothing was done, INSTEAD first on phone he (THE LIAR THAT HE IS) himself told me ALEX IS SICK AND (he) HAS GONE HOME BUT I KNEW IT WAS HIM ON THE PHONE SO I DECIDED TO VISIT HIM AND THE MOMENT HE SAW ME he JUMPED IN HIS TRUCK AND RAN AWAY. I immediately realized I have been conned and later his own employees advised me I should take the car as it is and try my luck with the MAACO corporate head quarters or Miami-Dade consumer protection or sue him or whatever because he is not going to fix the problem. HE IS bad WITH THE CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES ALIKE.
So I write to you for your help in solving following issues:
1) The car needs paint on and around sunroof. THERE ARE MINOR SCRATCHES ON SUNROOF AND AT FEW PLACES THE METAL IS SHOWING. HE CLAIMED & TRIED TO HIDE BEHIND A NOTING ON THE ESTIMATE WHICH STATES SOME IMPERFECTIONS WILL SHOW BUT THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOME IMPERFECTIONS AND SCRATCHING THE PAINT OR NOT PREPARING/ PAINTING SOME AREAS AT ALL .I AM NOT CLAIMING FOR THE IMPERFECTIONS WHICH ARE SO MANY IT WILL TAKE PAGES TO EXPLAIN AND THIS NIGHTMARE WITH MAACO WILL NEVER BE OVER. I AM CLAIMING FOR THE DAMAGE HE DID WITH HAMMER AND OTHER TOOLS TRYING TO FORCE THE SEAL IN .
2) Needs paint on all door jams (I AM TOLD THEY DID NOT PREPARE THE SURFACE SO THE PAINT IS NOT ADHERING/STICKING TO THE BODY)
3) ON the trunk where they put some smudge mark then try to wet sand it & buff it now there is a big shadow like semi-circle where they try to buff.
4) He charged me $50 to do body work and paint the work around rear left door handle BUT HE DID NOT DO ANY BODY WORK JUST SIMPLY PAINTED OVER THE OLD WORK IT SHOWS AND PAINT IS ALREADY PEELING OFF.
5) SINCE THIS GUY DOES NOT COME ON THE PHONE OR JUST KEEPS GIVING A RUN AROUND PLUS ANYWAY FOR ONE MONTH I HAVE BEEN RUNNING AFTER HIM WITH NO SUCCESS AND NOT TO FORGET THE HUMILIATING EXPERIENCE AND DIS RESPECTFUL TREATMENT WHICH WAS TOTALLY UN CALLED FOR NO SELF RESPECTING CUSTOMER WILL VISIT OR SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN --- I request you to please help me recover following money =
I am writing this letter first and only to MAACO headquarters because I went for the MAACO name, their advertisements in many publications/TV etc I feel it is their name and reputation at stake and maybe they will put BRAKES ON THIS GUY and stop him FROM CROSSING THE LINE. HE UNNECESSARILY DESTROYED THE RUBBER SEAL AND BROKE PARTS IN THE SUNROOF, THEN ARROGANTLY STARTED MIS-BEHAVING. I REALLY REGRET PAYING HIM FULL AMOUNT BECAUSE NOW HE DOES NOT care ABOUT CUSTOMER PROBLEMS (THIS FEELING OF HELPLESSNESS REALLY HURTS) but maybe MAACO corporate headquarters or somebody at MAACO will say THIS WAS NOT FAIR TO THE CUSTOMER AND DECIDE THAT THIS GUY NEEDS TO PAY FOR HIS MIS-DEEDS AND CROOKED ATTITUDE. --- Plus curb his ILLEGAL ACTIVITY of circling a non-related Florida statute on estimate form and claiming it as a tax statute.
I have no intentions of aggravating this situation any further so I will wait for MAACO headquarters response to my complaint and if they will refuse to help then I will seek legal remedies, write to proper authorities, post this complaint on internet on every possible site, chat room, mail this letter to anyone who wants to know about my experience with MAACO.
Was this review helpful?
Read 1 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by Anonymous on 2004-01-17:
Uh-oh MAACO!!! Better watch out! This guy means business!!!
Close comments
Add reply
Bad service and paint job
Posted by Funalaska on 05/19/2003
ST. ALBANS, WEST VIRGINIA -- I wanted to get my truck painted and make it look good. I took it to Maaco because it was supposed to be a professional and inexpensive to get done. I drove an hour to get to St. Albans, WV from Ironton, OH and had to leave my truck there a couple of days and return back to pick it up. I thought the paint job was terrible. I told the manager Butch that I was not satisfied and to see if we could work a deal. He said he had no authority to do that but I could talk to the owner if I wanted to bring the truck back again another day. I did contact the owner Joe Wallace and drove all the way down there for him to look at it. He said that he witnessed the truck being sanded and painted. I told him that it has not been sanded. It still had my old paint, that they just painted over it. He told me that he witness the employees stripping the truck to bare metal. I told him that I had already taken the truck to the dealership and they told me that it looked like it had just been painted over and that they didnt even get the surface rust off. He told me that they had stripped it. I told him that I was going to take paint remover and strip it myself and if he could tell me what color it was going to be underneath. He told me "GRAY and GREEN" primer, and he told me that if I did that that he would not touch the truck or fix anything that I could get off his lot. I took the paint stripper and stripped the spot above my cab and the same old paint and rust was underneath it and no primer. Then he told me that they made a mistake and to excuse them. He told me that he would paint the top of the cab and the very bottom edge of the doors and fenders. I told him that the whole paint job was not done right and that I wanted it done right. There were fish eyes every where and he told me they were rock chips but the dealership told me that it came from not prepping the surface right and that it would have to be done all over again. Just to fix what they had done and would probably cost $ 4,000 now to fix their mistake. When I told Butch, the manager, that he told me since I only paid $ 530 for the paint job that I probably couldn't afford a lawyer so sue him. I called their corporate office and talked to Marilyn and she told me she would have to talk to Joe and call me back and I never heard back from her. I am truly not satisfied. I feel that this was fraud, they lied to me totally and said that they seen them strip the truck which was a total lie. P.S. this all took place at 6124 MacCorkle Ave in St. Albans, WV 25177 and phone 1 800 894 8220. Just in case some one else would like to make the same mistake I made.
Was this review helpful?
Add reply
Review Link:
Bad Experience
Posted by on 12/13/2003
CARY, NORTH CAROLINA -- I had the worst experience ever with Maaco of Cary, in North Carolina. I am a law enforcement officer, and I am used to everyday stress, but this was somewhat of a different kind of stress. To make it as brief as possible, I got my car painted at the Maaco of Cary, N.C. I went in for a simple paint job, no bodywork, and when I get the car back there are fingerprints in the paint, not just in one place but at least six different places on my car. I have dual exhaust on my car and the silver tail pipe was painted black along with the rest of the car. I spoke to the owner Mike Maxwell after I paid CASH for my car and he got someone to remove the black paint from the silver tailpipe, but would not fix the problem of having fingerprints in my paint. Evidently, someone did not allow the paint to properly dry and touch the car in several areas and the paint dried the fingerprints in the body of the car. The owner refused to give me a refund, or correct the problem. ATTENTION ALL NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS: DO NOT TAKE YOUR AUTOMOBILE TO MAACO OF CARY. IT IS A ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN!
Was this review helpful?
Read 3 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by Anonymous on 2003-12-15:
You say you're a law enforcement officer, why don't you analyze the fingerprints and go after whoever put the there instead of the poor manager. Talk about a hot lead!
Posted by Anonymous on 2003-12-29:
I don't like Cary, Cary is filled with rich people and women in suburbans who try and run everyone over. Too bad its the only decent place to shop...
Posted by Fishtank on 2004-12-08:
I had my 1977 Mustang II done at the Raleigh MAACO. Instead of their 4-5 days it took 4 weeks to finish. When I came to pick it up, they had not done the pin striping, cleaned the overspray or replaced the emblems on the car. This took an hour of waiting and THEY HAD LOST THE F O R D letters for the rear face!! I was told I'd have them delivered to my home within a week and it's been 6 weeks now and I still don't have them! Nothing but runaround and the letters are about $25-35 each!
Close comments
Add reply
Being taken advantage of and ripped off
Posted by Funalaska on 05/16/2003
ST. ALBANS, WEST VIRGINIA -- I decided that I wanted to have my 89 GMC Sierra pick up truck painted to make it look good. There was a few dents that I wasnt worried about. I found out that Maaco had the best price on paint jobs. The closest one to me was an hour away drive. I live in Ironton, Ohio and drove all the way to St. Albans, W.Va where I got the truck done. They quoted me on the phone $299.00 just for the paint job. When I got there, they said its $330 for the paint job,then they told me that it will cost another $150 for them to strip the hood, top and tail gate..which I had a little rust spot on the top of the cab. The total bill was $530 with tax and all.. I came back to pick up the truck.. It was awful.. there was fish eyes every where.. The did not sand, strip or primered any where.. You can see where they painted over the rust and everything.. I was so disappointed. I told the manager Butch that I know that they didnt strip it. He said they did. I told him that I am a mechanic, I know about stripping and all that.. I just didnt have the accessories to do the paint job myself. He just stood there.. and wouldnt do anything. So I asked who owned the business. He said Joe. I had to take the truck all the way home an hour away and come back a couple of days later so that Joe the owner could look at it. He said that his employees stripped it and that he had witnessed it. I asked for paint stripper so I could prove it to him that it has not been sand, strip and primere. He agreed to give me the paint stripper. He didnt think I was really going to do it and he threatened me that if I did it that they would not fix the problem. We got into an argument and I told him that I know it hasnt been stripped. He finally admitted that they didnt strip it and I told him I wanted the fish eyes out of the paint and he said no that they would only fix the top of the cab and underneath the doors. I told him no, that wouldnt do me any good. I wanted the truck redone. He refuse to do it and told me to leave his property. I am very upset and would never go to another Maaco again !!!! I am going to take legal action over this. Do not go to MAACO in ST. ALBANS, W.VA !!! I dont know about any other MAACO but I do know this one. Oh, before I forget to say... when I first dropped my truck off, there was a couple from Huntington, W.VA that had just gotten their BMW painted a different color, they were coming to finally pick it up.. They told us that they were not satisfied with their job and that they had forgotten the door jams and alot of things. They had to make 3 round trips to get their car done right. They told us that since we were getting the truck painted the same color that we should be fine..now I wish I wouldve listened.
Was this review helpful?
Read 1 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by cg on 2004-04-16:
Maaco in Alpharetta Georgia is A+.
I was in an accident - someone backed out of their driveway into my van. Tony at Maaco repaired the area crushed and gave me their top grade paint job. It was beautiful! They even came in under what the insurance company paid me for the damage.
I believe that each Maaco shop (like all other businesses) varies in the quality of service.
The shop in Alpharetta came highly recommended. As a matter of fact it was the shop that painted a classic/old mustang that ended up on the cover of a magazine and won as best mustang in show.
Great shop. Great people.
Close comments
Add reply
Maaco should be out of business: Deceptive, and Fraudulent
Posted by Mrg214 on 12/03/2002
My name is [snip] and below is what happened when I took my car in for repair at Maaco, located at 601 South 17th Street in Harrisburg PA.
My original estimate, written during the winter of 2002, included painting the driver side door and door jam, doing bodywork and painting a patch of area behind the door about the size of my hand or less, and touch up paint on my rear bumper. When I dropped the car off, the paper had become old and wrinkled so the man at the copied it onto another sheet and I again instructed what was to be done.
Late August
My significant other, [snip], and I dropped my car off at Maaco, located at 601 South 17th Street in Harrisburg, PA to get my door painted and a small patch of bodywork behind the driver side door. For this, I gave them the paint code that was for my car. It was to be the same paint and quality that was already on my car. I handed them an estimate that was written by Pete back in the first couple months of year 2002. They copied the estimate onto another sheet because it was old and wrinkled. I instructed them again on what needed to be done. I also said that to be added to the list was to install one part inside my car door that I had in my trunk. The part allowed for the power door lock to work because the original part had been cracked. I also told them that there were two parts in the car but that only one was needed and that I had ordered the wrong part initially and I was going to return the unused part. Also, on the original estimate, it included the bodywork to be done behind the driver side door. But, by the time I took it in to Maaco, my boyfriend had performed most of the work behind the driver side door and used some bondo on it. It only needed to be touched up minimally and wet-sanded prior to painting. I also asked them to fix the door because it was not on totally right and was rubbing against the car and said this to the man at the counter while he was re-writing the work order.
Upon picking the car up, I went inside and paid and they then told me where the car was. I went out to the car and one of the staff, Pete, ended up coming out. We were very dissatisfied with the work and had several questions. First and foremost at the time was the abundance of paint inside the entire car. He assured us that we could bring it back to get cleaned up because I really needed to have the car at that time. After driving away less than a mile, I returned to the place very angry and trying to hold back my tears. My driver side window was not working properly and my passenger door handle had been snapped off inside. Nobody from the garage told me of the problems they caused. Instead, they relied on my demands for it to be done. The car reeked profusely of paint fumes. I returned and told them of the complaints and they assured everything would be taken care of. I also questioned where my extra car part was. They said that both parts were needed and that it is in the car door. I have not checked that statement to see whether they were telling the truth or not because I would need to take the inside door panel off which I will be going to a garage to have done. So, within the first day of picking my car up, there was paint over my entire dashboard area, a broken door handle, a missing part that, to my knowledge, was not needed and a window that suddenly started not functioning after dropping the car off to them. Nobody from the garage told me that the door handle was broken or about the window or about "needing" to install the part that I had mistakingly ordered from a different place nearby my former residence.
They said they needed to order the part and to wait to bring my car in to get cleaned up until the passenger side door handle arrived. First, they ordered the wrong part of the door handle. Then, once the part came in, I made my second trip back to Maaco on a Thursday (a man named Lance at Olive Garden covered my shift for me) to get everything taken care of and took off from work to do so. I gave them my work order to review the charges and compare it to what was done. The garage performed no body work on the driver side rear panel. At that point, I was willing to get a partial refund and go elsewhere to have the work done. However, they assured me they could do it right.
They were to remove all overspray throughout the interior and exterior of the car and re-do the patch behind the driver side door that they had only painted over while still charging me to do all of the body work. The only thing extra that I added to the original estimate was to replace a door-lock part and told them of this when originally dropping the car off but they, at this time, said it had not been added to the estimate. There was less bodywork to do and they did not do it until later in this story. So, while dropping the car off the man had not added the labor for installing the one needed doorlock part and I would have paid above the estimate had they explained that to me. However, they failed to do the body work on the car, which was on the estimate. When I picked the car up, they showed it to me in the bay of the garage where it was not lit well and had me pull my car out of the bay and into the street. And, again the work was not done. There still remains overspray all over the dash but not as bad and the body work was not done. And, they did not give me my copy of the work order back. However, they fixed the door handle that they broke and the functioning of the power window.
A few days later, I returned to the garage again and decided to ask them for the stuff they use on the car to remove the overspray. They handed me lacquer thinner and absorbent wipes to use on my dashboard and on the black plastic parts surrounding my dashboard and radio. They also instructed me to wear gloves. However, I never used the lacquer thinner after being instructed to wear gloves and how strong the stuff was for fear that it would ruin my dashboard. The general manager, at a later date, told me that it would have ruined it had I put it on my dashboard.
At this point, I was above and beyond angry and contacted the corporate headquarters via their customer service page on the internet. I explained the entire situation and they contacted the general manager, Wally Carper, at the Maaco I had my car serviced at. Corporate had me contact the general manager and he assured his supervision over my car for everything to get done correctly and told him what the people in his shop had tried to give me to clean my car with. I showed him my car door that was painted and the small area behind it as well as the inside of my car. He was familiar with my situation since he had already spoken to corporate about it. After discussing the situation with him, I decided to give them one final chance to fix my car. I had also told him that a piece of stripping between my door and my window was missing since the time they installed the passenger door handle. We had called Maaco shortly after picking the car up to tell them of the piece of stripping missing and they denied any fault of theirs. We spoke to Pete. After all the problems with this place, I was not about to lose another day of work to get my car fixed for what should have been done on the first trip, and at the most, two trips. Wally contacted his "buddy" at Rent-A-Wreck, and reserved a rental car for me on the day my car was to go back to them AGAIN, on 10/22/02. Wally paid cash for the rental and I thought it was rather strange that since, as he stated, he rented cars there so often, he did not have an account there. Looking back on the situation, I think now that Wally got a little kick out of setting me up with a rental car from his "buddy". This is because the rental agency tried to put me into an old beat-up vehicle that smelled raunchy and had 180,000 miles on it. Believe me, I'd rather have walked than have driven that car. Then, I requested to have another vehicle and offered to pay any difference in rental fees. The man said there was no difference in cost and gave me a Neon, which I agreed to, and Rent-A-Wreck said that it just hadn't been cleaned yet. It looked ok and I was late to work so I took it. When I got in the vehicle, I noticed that the fuse panel was off but thought that they probably just had worked on it. Anyway, later that evening as I tried to drive home from a chiropractor appointment around 7 pm, I quickly realized that the headlights did not work. Thank goodness that my apartment was less than a mile away. I just drove home and told Wally Carper, the general manager, about it the next morning.
When I returned to the local Maaco the next morning, I was again late to work because I had to pick up my car and return the rental. Wally then asked me to look over the car. I did so and stated that there is still paint over the inside of the car. Mr. Carper stated that the areas were textured and could not be cleaned any better. I told him it had better come off. The bodywork behind the door looked ok to me. I asked that they try to clean the car again and pointed out that whatever they were using was taking the finish off my dashboard. I was supposed to have my car but the general manager stated that the part had not come in yet. They were waiting for the stripping. Again, I requested my copy of the work order be returned to me. Mr. Carper said that they had it out and now both copies were lost.
I had to return during my lunch hour and my car was still not cleaned of overspray. However, discoloration of my dashboard was very noticeable at that point. The bodywork behind the driver side door looked fine and they said they had installed the strip that was missing from my previous trip back to them that fits between my passenger side door and window. I was angry but thought that a detailer might be able to remove it. I needed to get back to work since I was on my lunch hour and thought that I would just have to take further action against them or call their corporate offices again. At this point, Wally tried to hand me a bill for approximately $32 to cover the cost of the part. I told him I believed they were again at fault after they just had worked on the same door and replaced the passenger door handle. I refused to pay for the part. He then threw the bill off from the counter in a huff and said that I was trying to get a part for free. Another customer or soon-to-be customer was present as well. I said nothing else and left.
Since then, I contacted the corporate offices again and received a response from Marilyn on November 4, 2002 (the phone number she left me was 610-337-6111) that the general manager, Wally Carper, will not do anything further to remedy my situation. She also instructed me that there was nothing else they could do at this point and that the decision lies with the individual garage.
I have since contacted attorneys and have appointments scheduled for Tuesday November 19, 2002. I also need to have garages spend their time writing up estimates for Maaco's problems. I already went to one garage that says they cannot put the car back to its original condition and suggested having Maaco purchase my car. Also, even if the garage did do the work, they would not be able to guarantee their work because of what Maaco has already done. I must also go to another garage to get a second estimate as well as shopping for attorneys.
On November 13th, my boyfriend visited the Maaco and was told by the general manager, Wally Carper, that they lost the work order even after he previously stated they had it. However, when I pushed the issues regarding my car's damages, it suddenly turned out that they "lost it". They were supposed to be sending it to me. In addition, the general manager told my boyfriend that he and I were scam artists and that he would ensure that I was put in prison for seven years for insurance fraud if I took any further action. He mentioned that he would call my insurance company as well as the state insurance commission. My boyfriend, Robert Angeli, then asked as to how he would even know who my insurance company is or anything about me if he did not have a copy of the work order. Despite my believing that I did nothing wrong regarding insurance payments, I contacted my agent, briefly told him what happened and asked what Mr. Carper could possibly be talking about. My insurance agent instructed me that I did nothing wrong. The general manager has also changed his tune and has suddenly decided that I wanted my entire car painted with the cheapest job possible. I don't think anyone would believe that I wanted my entire car painted. In addition, if I were to have my entire car painted, I most certainly would not have had it painted white.
In summary, I have been lied to and threatened and my car has been destroyed. My boyfriend and I have received nothing but disrespect from the garage. They painted my entire car without permission and obviously thought that I wouldn't find out about it until it's too late. Maaco has a total disregard to what they were authorized to do. They were not authorized to paint my car with anything substandard and especially not to paint the ENTIRE vehicle. They kept my receipt and has refused to give me a copy in an attempt to cover up their huge blunder. This has been much more than a mistake in which they got their signals crossed and accidentally painted my car. Even if it were a simple mistake, they have not yet admitted it. Instead, when forced to answer, they lied and said that they did what they were supposed to do. In sum, when I first complained to corporate, Maaco agreed to fix my car and agreed to the problems they caused. They did not dispute that I only had my car door painted. It was not until after I disclosed to them that I knew about my entire car being painted that they changed their tune and said that they were supposed to paint the entire car shoddily.
This can most certainly be considered fraud and the Maaco on 17th street should not be licensed.
On November 17th, I again emailed corporate for written responses to my concerns since they had previously only spoke with me on the telephone. On November 18, 2002, I received a different response from Maaco's Corporate headquarters stating that they will try to obtain a copy of the work order. Also, they have stated that they forwarded my email to the owner of the shop and that the person I spoke to was only a "shop manager". Although, before I was told by corporate customer service that he was the one who made the decision and corporate could do nothing further about it.
I corresponded again with customer relations and was informed that the owner was already aware of the situation and no mention was made of the owner being willing to remedy the situation. They have been lying to me and destroyed my vehicle. Also, they never disclosed to me that they painted the vehicle nor did they provide me with any type of receipt, or work order, that they painted my vehicle. And, without this, they would not even have to guarantee their horrendous job. Quite frankly, as far as I know, it is the law that they provide me with a receipt of service, or detriments in this case, that they have performed. It's fraud.
On November 19th, I had a consultation with an attorney. In addition, I received an estimate for $5763.67 and 14 garage days for repair. A standard rental car for this period, including the weekends, has an estimated charge of $623.46 from Enterprise. The estimate I received is from a Brenner body shop located in Harrisburg. I also went to Faulkner Honda Body Works but was told that they would not give me an estimate because they do not perform such large jobs like my car would require. The man from Faulkner Honda then suggested I go to Nick's Body Shop, also in Harrisburg, who also would not give an estimate because he said he would not feel as if he had the time to repair my car nor did he think that he would even be able to repair it successfully and referred to the paint job from Maaco as a "mess".
In addition, I have a copy of an estimate I got from 3-D Auto Body, located in Nicholson PA, that was written on January 29, 2002. The shop still had it on file from January 29, 2002. I may even have the original at my parent's home. The estimate shows that I wanted my car door painted, not my entire car. This is in addition to the estimate that I received from my insurance company.
It has now been three months since my first visit to Maaco and the paint is peeling and cracking.
Was this review helpful?
Read 5 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by Anonymous on 2002-12-06:
Too long. Lost interest.
Posted by Anonymous on 2002-12-09:
Time for the BBB! Hammer them, girl!
Posted by Anonymous on 2002-12-10:
and make sure that you get copies of EVERYTHING that the other garages, your insurance agent say, etc, in writing!
Posted by Anonymous on 2003-10-10:
Manchester Maaco is run by a very dishonest man. I was suppos to have dents, which were minor, and a paint job. I only got the paint job. He never gave me an estimate, just scheduled the appointment. I trusted this man and he was very sly all dents are still on the car and I am out of pocket $350. When I called to complain, he was fresh, rude and did not act like a professional business man. I realize he is from another country, but does not need to be rude to a woman. I certainly will take this further...to the BBB and who ever else will look at my car. What a rip off.
Posted by Anonymous on 2003-12-20:
Maaco's 1/2 price paint job sounded very attractive UNTIL I read this complaint. I'm afraid to even pull in to any Maaco location.
Close comments
Add reply
Maaco Paint Job
Posted by CheapHitman on 10/06/2004
CINCINNATI, OHIO -- I have had three cars painted by Maaco in the last two years without problems. One should not expect a proper paint job without first preparing the paint. Maaco's $249 deal DOES NOT include full preparation of the old paint.
To insure a proper paint job before you take the car to Maaco: Knock down any scratches with 220 grit paper, then go over them all with 400 grit paper. Next, go over your entire car with a scuff pad (extra-fine or super-fine) and clean with a solvent - then clean again. This is a very easy process and will only cost you $35.00 plus 2 - 3 hours of your time to ensure a wonderful paint job!
Your only other choice is to have Maaco or another shop prep the car for $75.00 an hour!
Maaco offers excellent paint products like PPG and DuPont paints, there urethane paint is great for older cars!
Remember, do your own prep and your car will look great!
Was this review helpful?
Read 4 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by Slimjim on 2004-10-06:
Good post. For $250 you can't expect too much. The prep work may get beyond a do-it-yourselfer though if body work is involved. But then again, you weren't getting any of that for the $250 anyway.
Posted by 1hung2lo on 2004-10-07:
Here's a tried and true, tested idea. Call your local highschool shop class and see if they are willing to take on a minor restoration as a class project. They may take on some minor body work and prep work for a donation to their school and get your car prepped for painting.
Posted by mykle on 2004-12-22:
Sure do your own prep..... Not in cali bub.. Maacco in cali will not offer any warranties if you do your own prep. I did and when the paint started to pill after 1/2 a year they blamed it on the primer/prep. The dude told me that I did not do a good prep job and used cheap prime. I told him I bought the prime form patterson paint(very well known shop for quality in Fresno) His reply was then you did not sand the car good......
I looked at him and laughed..... I pointed to the paint peeled and said what do you see? he replied paint peel form bad prep.... I laughed and said "Wrong, PRIMER".... the prime was still on the car the paint just peeled off of the prime...... They to this day, still refuse my refund. I redid my car myself and rented a booth. The paint is still on the car, Whoa... Maybe it was the prep... not its been 3 years color still on the car not like Maaco on the floor.
Posted by The Nissan Guy on 2005-03-15:
I just had my car painted at Maaco and did my own prep work and was told by the paint shop that they would remove the glue off one door and remove the emblem stickers off the tailgate of my SUV.
Well the paint is peeling in a number of places and they just want to brush touch it and when they took off the stickers they gouged it all over the place. Not willing to rectify situation.
Close comments
Add reply
Class Action Lawsuit and Story about Maaco
Posted by Rateabusiness.biz on 01/24/2006
Pictures at http://www.suemaaco.com/our_pictures.htm
WE ARE STRARTING A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST MAACO...TO JOIN GO TO www.suemaaco.com or email us at email@example.com
Maaco painted my car and damaged the car and did not give me the paint job that I paid for. The hood will not shut properly and the rear quarter panel is bent behind the tire. I was told by their secretary that someone hit a car in the parking lot and I think it was my car. The highest price paint job on the wall was $899.00 but the paint job that I got was the $399.00 paint job according to the manager. They are trying to charge me $980.00. The car has allot of scratches and trash in the paint and their is some orange peal on the car (looks like an orange pealing) it has numerous runs and drips and after only 2 weeks paint is pealing off of the passenger door. I took out a small claims court action and before the court date I asked Maaco if I could bring another paint and body man over to inspect the car. They cursed me out and would not let me see the car or anyone else see the car. They told me that they would see me in court and forget seeing the car. After we lost in court the first time because they had shiny pictures that didn't show the imperfections and we had no pictures since they wouldn't allow us access to the car. We appealed that ruling and after them not allowing us to see the car AGAIN (even with us having the police with us) we won in court but now after being painted THREE times and 3 1/2 months later the car is really screwed up.
Whole Story
Now let me tell you how all of this started so you won't make the same mistake we did. Then we will get back to the conclusion. Well I had my 91 Corvette Convertible sold on ebay and the buyer wanted me to get it painted before he picked it up because the paint was a little faded and swirled....see pictures....So we figured....Uh-oh better call maaco....what a mistake. But anyway we went to maaco to get an estimate. The manager Charlie Justice (what a name....JUSTICE) HA-HA-HA... well he looked at the car and said that he could make the car look like new. The paint was pealing off in two small areas that he said would need special attention but that they could handle it. I asked how much and he said that they could give it a Top Notch job for $980.00. I said well let me go next door to talk to a friend of mine at the car dealership next door and that I would be back in a minute. (I was going there to ask about their shop and reputation) Well when I came back he had taken a bright yellow paint pen and marked ALL OVER my car. He had circled every spec and spot on the car....some places he circled had nothing there.... I asked what the heck was he doing he said that he was marking the areas that needed attention. I asked him if the yellow marks would come off and he said they would have to be sanded off. I was pissed but sort of stuck. So I agreed to the price and went inside to get things started. He said it would take a week and it would look great. I signed a paper aggreeing to the price and noticed the signs on the wall. I saw the $899.00 sign and said thats what I am getting right and was told yes. Well about two weeks later they called and said the car was ready. This was during a hurricane we were having on a Friday. I said are you serious.......it is raining and blowing like crazy outside. Do you really want me to pick it up in this weather.......They said that if I didn't pick the car up that day they would not be responsible for any damage that happened to it. THEY CALLED BACK FOUR TIMES THAT DAY DEMANDING WE PICK UP THE CAR. I guess they had to make payroll I don't know. Well I called Maaco Corporate and asked them if they thought I should pick up the car in a hurricane. They said that they didn't recommend it. I told them to call the Franchise and tell them that I would be there on Monday to pick up the car. Monday came and we went to look at the car. OH MY GOD......the car had trash all in the paint and had allot of runs. The manager told me that I got what I paid for. I said what do you mean. He said that I couldn't expect much for $980.00. I said you told me that the car would look great and be right. You didn't say ANYTHING about price equaled quality......I told him that he was the one that gave the price not me. He said tough Sh_t and that if I wanted my car pay the bill. I told him that I would have to talk to his Corporate office first. I called the corporate office and complained and they informed me that each Franchise was independently owned and operated and that I would have to deal with them. Later that day a guy called me as the owner of the Franchise and asked me why I wouldn't pay for the paint job. I went through the entire story with him and after allot of arguing he said that they would fix the car and he would meet me four days later on Thursday. Well Thursday came and went and I never heard a word from anyone. About two weeks later I recieved a call from them saying the car was ready. Well we went to look at the car again. This time the car was worse than the first time. It had scratches all over the car and the entire passenger side of the car was orange pealed. Again the Manager, Charlie Justice, was rude and ugly. I asked him why the car had scratches on it and he said that was where they had washed the car........and then asked me....you are going to wash the car aren't you. I said why would washing the car put scratches on it and that I had washed allot of cars in my life and it didn't leave scratches. He said that they were there but I just couldn't see them. I then asked if anything could be done about the orange peal on the passenger side. He said that there wasn't anything that could be done. I said and you want me to just pay you and take the car like it is. He said if you want your car yes. I said you have lost your mind if you think I am going to accept that. He cursed me out and told me to get off his property.
I contacted their corporate office and they did NOTHING to help me with my situation. I sent three unanswered letters to the corporate office. Two addressed to the CEO and alleged owner. To this date I have heard nothing more from them. All they care about is opening franchises and nothing else. The lady that was in their customer service department told me that. She also said that their was nothing they could or would do about it. She basically told me tough luck. The reason I went to Maaco in the first place was because of their national name and size. What a big mistake. No one is this company couldn't care less. I left 10 messages for the franchise owner to call me and I never received ONE call back. They think they can do anything they want to the customer and us have to take it. I sent several letters to the local office as well and only one answer from them which said that they were charging me $20.00 per day for storage until I picked the car up.
This brings us to the my law suit that I filed against them for $5000.00 for the damage they done to my car. About three days before court I called them and requested to see the car and to bring another Paint and Body guy with me to inspect the car. They told me that neither I or the other guy could see the car and Charlie Justice cursed at me again and told me he would see me in court. I could not believe they wouldn't let me see the car or take pictures for court.
Well, we went to court and they presented pictures of the car that did not show the scratches and other problems and the judge had no choice but to dismiss the case because of the pictures. I appealed to superior court and asked for a jury trial. The court appointed a mediator and again I went to the Maaco store to see the car and take pictures for the mediator. Again the store manager refused to let me see the car or take pictures. I called the police to meet me at the store because of threats I have received from the manager in the past. He still refused to let me see the car or take pictures and two Wilmington Police officers can attest to his refusal. While I was there waiting for the officers I was threatened again by the manager while two of his employees stood next to him. They cornered me in the back of the building beside a fence. Luckily the police showed up and nothing happened but I think they had plans to assault me.
I went to the mediation procedure and as usual the man from Maaco lied repeatedly to the arbitrator just like the first case. Luckily this guy didn't believe it for a minute. The arbitrator asked me if Maaco could bring the car to court so I would have the opportunity to see the car and he would look at it too. I said sure and that I would LOVE the opportunity to actually see the car since I had been trying to for over 2 months and Maaco would not allow me to see it. This was 10:30 AM and Maaco said they could have the car there by 3:00 PM....WHATTTTTTT I guess they had to finish the car over 3 months later. Who knows.....anyway the judge asked why so long since the dealership was only 15 minutes down the road. Maaco said they had to wash the car first. I told the judge that I would agree to 1:00 P.M. instead and the judge agreed.
Well, we went back to court and while I was outside Maaco drove up with the car. I went over to look at the car and it was atrocious and it was actually worse than the last time I had seen it. So I went up to court and asked the judge two questions.......
1. Before we look at the car I would like to have it impounded by the police until the conclusion of these proceedings so they can't do anything else to my car.
Answer: The judge said he couldn't order that.
2. Was the decision of this court...final and binding.
Answer: He said that they were not and that either party could appeal the decision.
I then told the judge that someone took off with the car when I was walking back to court and that I didn't know what happened to it. (I wonder what happened -repo man might have got it I don't know)
The man from Maaco went crazy...telling me I would be arrested for stealing my own car.....(wonder how that could happen) At the end of the proceedings the judge ruled in my favor because I had to refund a persons $1000.00 that they had given me when I had the car sold on ebay. But since it has never been ready I had to return the money. So the judge awarded me $1000.00 and gave them $980.00 for their screwed up paint job that has to be sanded off and repainted. UNBELIEVABLE
I did find the car and sold it the same day. After taking pictures and having 4 other body shops evaluate the car. They obviously wrecked the car or something because there is more damage now than when I took it to them and luckily I have pictures of the car I had taken the week before I took it to them that I had put on ebay. The car had no body damage before and now it does. Not to mention paint pealing off of the car.
This is what made us design and host this site. THE INJUSTICE HAS TO STOP! TELL YOUR STORY NOW AND JOIN US.
UPDATE: You are going to LOVE this. We finally had a chance today on Friday January 13, 2006 to really inspect the car. We took it to three other body shops to inspect the damage. The car has been damaged and repaired and the car did not have any damage when we took it to them. But that isn't the worst part. They have painted the car for a third.....yes THIRD time and it still looked like crap....but wait...it gets better. This time they didn't even use Metallic paint like I had requested. The last time I had seen the car they had used deep metallic which would have been pretty if it wasn't scrached and had runs all in it. But wait it gets better......the pictures they presented in court on Thursday were of the car when it had Metallic paint on it. The evidence they presented in court was FRAUDULENT!!!!!!! The car has just regular old paint on it now. I was told by the body shops that they done that because metallic can not be buffed and regular paint can.
We did picket the Maaco in Wilmington on Friday January 13, 2006 and were able to talk to quite a few people and let them know about Maaco. Some of the employee's came out and took our signs we had posted by the road. We had to call the police and they denied taking the sign. Luckily I had a picture of them taking them.....ha.. ha. Now I have to decide if I want to prosecute them for stealing the signs. Two more employee's walked up and starting taking other signs. I approached them and told them not to take it personally and get themselves in trouble. They took the signs out of the ground and I told them the police were on their way and they didn't need the trouble. I took the signs out of their hands and put them back in the ground. I told them they needed to visit our web site and others like it and learn for themselves why we were there and to talk to their idiot boss. Overall a fun day.....Ha...Ha..
James Golden
Was this review helpful?
Read 3 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by Ms.Consumer on 2006-01-25:
good for you for taking them to court and winning. I like how the car was stolen (wink wink) from Maaco. LOL
Posted by 98Bird on 2006-09-28:
damn, this is crazy. do you live in a bad neighborhood or something? you should post specifically which Maaco this was (i didn't see anything other than Wilmington). geez, this is a horror story. one thing that worries me about the Maaco i'm dealing with is that they all sounded and acted like sleazy car salesman when i came in for an estimate.
Posted by big fish on 2007-12-31:
just remember Maaco's are franchisee;s. The one go to has always done great jobs for me not matter what. I live in fort myers florida.
Close comments
Add reply
Terrible Paint job and Injustice
Posted by Suemaaco on 01/12/2006
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA -- Maaco painted my car and damaged the car and did not give me the paint job that I paid for. The hood will not shut properly and the rear quarter panel is bent behind the tire. I was told by their secretary that someone hit a car in the parking lot and I think it was my car. The highest price paint job on the wall was $899.00 but the paint job that I got was the $399.00 paint job according to the manager. They are trying to charge me $980.00. The car has allot of scratches in the paint and the passenger side of the car is orange pealed (looks like an orange pealing) has numerous runs and drips and after only 2 weeks paint is pealing off of the passenger door. I took out a small claims court action and before the court date I asked Maaco if I could bring another paint and body man over to inspect the car. They cursed me out and would not let me see the car or anyone else see the car. They told me that they would see me in court and forget seeing the car.
I contacted their corporate office and they did NOTHING to help me with my situation. I sent three unanswered letters to the corporate office. Two addressed to the CEO and alleged owner. To this date I have heard nothing more from them. All they care about is opening franchises and nothing else. The lady that was in their customer service department told me that. She also said that there was nothing they could or would do about it. She basically told me tough luck. The reason I went to Maaco in the first place was because of their national name and size. What a big mistake. No one is this company could care less. I left 10 messages for the franchise owner to call me and I never received ONE call back. They think they can do anything they want to the customer and us have to take it.
Well we went to court and they presented pictures of the car that did not show the scratches and other problems and the judge had no choice but to dismiss the case because of the pictures. I appealed to superior court and asked for a jury trial. The court appointed a mediator and again I went to the Maaco store to see the car and take pictures for the mediator. Again the store manager refused to let me see the car or take pictures. I called the police to meet me at the store because of threats I have received from the manager in the past. He still refused to let me see the car or take pictures and two Wilmington Police officers can attest to his refusal. While I was there waiting for the officers I was threatened by the manager and two of his employees. They cornered me in the back of the building beside a fence. Luckily the police showed up and nothing happened but I think they had plans to assault me.
I went to the mediation procedure and as usual the man from Maaco lied repeatedly to the arbitrator just like the first case. Luckily this guy didn't believe it for a minute. The arbitrator asked me if Maaco could bring the car to court so I would have the opportunity to see the car and he would look at it too. I said sure and that I would LOVE the opportunity to actually see the car since I had been trying to for over 2 months and Maaco would not allow me to see it. This was 10:30 AM and Maaco said they could have the car there by 3:00 PM....WHATTTTTTT I guess they had to finish the car over 3 months later. Who knows.....anyway the judge asked why so long since the dealership was only 15 minutes down the road. Maaco said they had to wash the car first. I told the judge that I would agree to 1:00 P.M. instead and the judge agreed.
Well we went back to court and while I was outside Maaco drove up with the car. I went over to look at the car and it was atrocious it was actually worse than the last time I had seen it. So I went up to court and asked the judge two questions.......
1. Before we look at the car I would like to have it impounded by the police until the
conclusion of these proceedings.
The judge said he couldn't order that.
2. Was the decision of this court...final and binding.
He said that they were not and that either party could appeal the decision.
I told the judge that someone took off with the car when I was walking back to court and that I didn't know what happened to it. (I wonder what happened repo man might have got it I don't know)
The man from Maaco went crazy...telling me I would be arrested for stealing my own car.....(wonder how that could happen) At the end of the proceedings the judge ruled in my favor because I had to refund a persons $1000.00 that they had given me when I had the car sold on eBay. But since it has never been ready I had to return the money. So the judge awarded me $1000.00 and gave them $980.00 for there screwed up paint job that has to be sanded off and repainted. UNBELIEVABLE. The judge knew I wasn't really out any money this way so it didn't really matter. A Really Smart judge.
I did find the car and sold it the same day. After taking pictures and having 4 other body shops evaluate the car. They obviously wrecked the car or something because there is more damage now than when I took it to them and luckily I have pictures of the car I had taken the week before that I had put on eBay. The car had no body damage before and now it does. Not to mention paint pealing off of the car.
Was this review helpful?
Read 2 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by Coonass on 2006-01-24:
I am a shop owner, Not Affiliated with and wish not to be with Maaco or any other production/economy shop. Please use common sense when leaving your second highest purchase of your life in others hands. I feel very bad for you and the others of this terrible mishap. But you must first look at the cost in comparison to other shops. Most other shop are not outlandishly high, the Maaco's and other economy shops are much to cheap to do the job correctly.
I understand that they advertise things you will not get. BAD FOR THEM! Thinking you will get a three to five thousand Dollar Paint Job for under $1000.00 BAD FOR YOU!
It technically cannot happen. Material Cost for good materials to do a complete exterior paint job will exceed your entire price quoted to do the job. I no longer do complete refinish work because even at the 3-5 thousand $ mark. There is still very little profit after all materials and labor and insurance and on and on. Lets say overhead is calculated. But I know they advertise that you are getting the best. Well the best is an opinion and that opinion can very by quite a bit from person to person. As you have witnessed.
Rules of thumb.
1# You cannot buy a Lexus for the cost of a Hyundai.
Hyundai is not a terrible car but if you are looking for the same quality you will be sadly sickened. DO NOT EXPECT THE SAME FROM A PAINT AND BODY SHOP.
2# Most big companies have misleading advertisements. (Ford) Built Ford tough. have you seen the things they put those trucks through on the commercials? (Chevy) driving a stock Chevy truck on top of a man made boulder mountain, Technically would never make it, but thanks to computer animation and technology, they've done it.
Try to get warrantee Work after repeating the punishment they encounter in the False Advertisements.
3# If it sounds to good to be true it probably is. Sad but true.
4# Ask to see a vehicle that has just been finished or is in the final stages. If they are not willing to share there great work with you as a SELLING tool then maybe the work they do is not great at all.
5# Any good paint shop will not have different grades of work. *Good * Better * Best. Should not exists in a collision repair shop. There is only one way to repair a wrecked car, THE RIGHT WAY. The Collision repair tech only knows one thing, if he is getting paid 1-hour to fix a dent he is not going to spend 1-2 hours additional on that same dent. So he stands back and sees that the estimator shorted him to get the job in the shop and is angry. So if anything he is going to spend less than that 1-hour to make up for the shortage in time. Plus how many other dents x how many vehicles that week was he shorted. Now if he was treated right and given a decent time to fix that dent, maybe he would catch another small dent or scratch or two because he feels that he was not taken advantage of and shorted.
6# Check out the small shops for collision repair. independent shops that are not chain driven. There you will normally find people that truly care about you and your car.
The guy that managed the BIG ABC shop you went to could have been a shift manager at McDonalds 1 month prior. And with nothing more than a 2-3 day siminar,is estimating and making decisions on how your car should be repaired/repainted..
No punt intended to the McDonalds Shift manager. I would not want to attempt to do his job after a 2-3 day seminar. Plus How many Seminars are really driven to produce top people, the more cattle they heard in a day the better the pay.
No seminar can compare to on the job training that would take months or years.
I have gone a bit over board with my response. I seem to do the same with my Business. We are in our 44th year in business and 40 years in the same location. Father son operation. Sad to say this trade lost one of the best
Body man/painters/customer oriented people, 11 years ago. See my father was a terrible businessman. He died with no money saved, no health insurance. Thank God it was a very brief illness. but everything paid for. Left my mother and I with nothing more than funeral cost.
But left this World with a lot of people that respected him and his way of taking care of customers and there cars.
And I plan to do the same. With the exception of saving money. God and IRS Willing.
John's Paint & Body
Posted by Sundancer on 2013-09-18:
Wonderful article knowledgeable information. Only disagree on one point. If the choice is Lexus , Caddy, or Hyundai. I'll take the flagship Hyundai. It's far superior to the US made product and more reliable.
Close comments
Add reply
Horrendous Customer Service & Lies/Unable to deliver on promises
Posted by DeniseLove on 04/10/2010
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA -- My husband went to the Maaco franchise in Martinez, GA on March 13. Got an estimate and was told "bring the truck on a Saturday and you'll have it the following Saturday". He was impressed with the estimate and we took the truck back on the following Saturday, March 20.
A few FYI facts -
1) The truck was originally dark green with gold on the bottom - he told them to paint it exactly as it was.
2) We live over an hour away from the franchise.
3) Hubby gave his cell phone number because the shop hours were during his working hours and wanted them to be able to reach him if there were questions or problems.
While we were there, we decided to let them find a new hood which was part of the original estimate discussion. When hubby removed the bed liner he found an area of rust/corrosion. Eric, the "manager" told him as a complimentary service, they would brush out the corrosion and just do a cursory spray on the bed since the liner would be replaced - "you don't want that corrosion to go untreated" were Eric's words.
Eric called my husband on Monday, March 22 and told him he found a hood and it would be delivered to them by Wednesday. He then told him it would be ready the following Saturday, March 27.
Friday March 26, my husband called and was told "we've been busy and haven't done any painting except the bottom (which was to be painted gold and cost an extra $150) - the color wasn't right so the painter had to start over. It can be ready early next week - Wednesday at the latest." Hubby wasn't happy but he had some co-workers interested in seeing the job for potential future work. He mentioned this to Eric. Eric told him he was happy for the referrals and would take "extra care to make sure the job was perfect - not that he didn't do that with every job".
The following Tuesday (the day before we were supposed to get the truck back), March 30 my husband called and was told there were some issues with the roof of the truck. Apparently they said there had been previous body work and they were trying to make it perfect. Getting frustrated by now, my husband asked how obvious these "imperfections" were from the ground. "Well, not noticeable" was the answer. He told them just to make it look as good as possible - it is the roof and not many people are going to be hovering over the roof to inspect the paint.
Again, we were told the truck would be ready on Saturday, April 3. Friday, April 2 my husband called to find out what time to be there on Saturday. He was told the truck would not be ready until the following week. By now, he is beyond frustrated. Not only has it taken a week longer than promised, hubby has had to make every phone call himself - no phone calls were made by Maaco to inform us of any issues or delays.
The following week, we planned to go to Maaco on Thursday April 8. Wednesday April 7 my husband got home at 6pm and found a message from Eric on the home answering machine stating that there was a problem found after final paint on the passenger door which was very noticeable and he felt we would regret not having it taken care of. due to the late time we got the message, we could not call back until the following day.
Thursday April 8 - hubby called Eric and told him he was unhappy about having the message left on the home phone because we went out of our way to give the cell number so he could be reached during business hours. Eric told him the labor for fixing the "imperfection" on the door would be $300 but would cut it to $60. We told him to finish the truck. Eric said it would be ready sometime that Friday, April 9. My husband told him we would be there at 9-9:30 am that Saturday April 10 and to have it ready to go when we got there.
Saturday April 10. 9:45 am. We arrived at Maaco. Side note: A coworker of mine was there getting an estimate on a paint job - definitely have to talk to him Monday morning... Eric got to us at 10 (after taking my coworker to the back to show him finished jobs). He told us they were getting the door untaped from the touchup work he called about. We asked to go back and take a look at it. He said "You know what, we have a ton of stuff going on back there. It's not going to be possible to go back there." Mind you this was the same place he had just taken my unsuspecting coworker. At this point my husband was getting exasperated, and voiced his frustration...no he did not raise his voice, nor did he use profanity (for which I was grateful). Eric, the "manager" told him he was not going to have that argument with my husband and told him "you need to simmer down". At this point, my next to the last nerve was being trampled.
Twenty minutes later, the gate opened and one of the painters drove out in my husband's truck. The first thing I noticed was the silver at the bottom...not gold. I immediately walked into the store and asked Eric why the bottom was silver and not gold. He hollered "painter" and went back to what he was doing. Last nerve is now being tested.
I walked out the door with Mr. Painter. The guy who drove the truck out the gate was already out there with my husband disagreeing about the silver/gold issue. As I walked up to the truck, the painter was telling us "that is gold not silver - you need to look closer". At this point the driver said and I quote "I don't know what you're looking at, but you people need to get your eyes checked because what I see is gold". At this point I figured I would need to come up with bail money to release my husband but again he restrained himself. As I turned to walk back into the office, he hollered "I swear on the lives of all my brutha's I served with in the corps that it is gold and you don't know what you're looking at". Any self-respecting Marine would have stood up and slapped him for using the honor of the Corps as an excuse to be rude, thuggish and degrading.
I went into the office and told Eric to give me the bill so I could pay it and leave. At this point Mr. Driver came back into the office and proceeded behind the counter to ring us up. He started rudely mouthing off about color-blindness and I held up my hand and told him he needed to stop. He opened his mouth again and I looked him squarely in his eyes and repeated Stop - once. I asked Eric to please ask Mr. Driver to leave the office. He looked at Mr. Driver and told him to calm down and turned back to his computer. I paid the bill (every stinking penny of $1327.00) and told Eric that his first customer service mistake was telling us we needed to simmer down when we were simply expressing our frustration in a very normal, dissatisfied customer, ADULT manner. I then told him that the second mistake was allowing his painter to rudely tell customers they needed to get their eyes checked when we told him the color was wrong.
I am very aware of my rights as a customer who used a credit card to make a purchase. One word - CHARGEBACK. This will put a hold on their request for our money. This will also allow ample time for us to contact their corporate headquarters and give them a very detailed account and let them know that we expect at the very least a refund of the $150 we paid for gold paint. I will post our horror story to every possible media, and alert the local "on your side" consumer reporter if necessary.
By the way - the last straw which I did not notice until I got home...possibly because I need my eyes checked....they never TOUCHED the truck bed, did a poor job taping areas that should not have been painted, and did not correctly re-install the hood and windshield wipers.
Was this review helpful?
Add reply
Review Link:
Maaco nightmare
Posted by Jacar on 08/18/2005
LAKE PARK, FLORIDA -- There is saying that nobody learns from others mistake and I discovered that is true. My Maaco nightmare; after shopping around for quotes and reading some bad reviews about Maaco I still decided to give them a try (bad mistake). My decision was not based on price but on convenience so I took my 83 MB 300TD to the shop in Lake Park Florida. After asking the owner, Phillip, what was his best job and explaining to him my expectations, we came to an agreement, so I left the car. As part of the contract they were going to strip the hood, the top and the rear hatch because the paint was cracked and had some surface rust (only on the top and right rear door). The first time I say my car they were removing the paint without removing any of the moldings that I did not remove. I told them to remove the grill, it was in the contract, but they did not remove it. They scratched the grille and damaged 80% of the chrome parts that were left on. The second time I went to see my car is was sitting outside rusting because they removed the paint and did not treat the metal or even primed it. The owner told me that what I saw was not rust, yeah right (I have pictures). I told him that if he did not treat the rusted area correctly that the paint would bubble. After 5 1/2 months with the car and have been painted 5 times due to many mistakes made by them, sticky paint, cracked paint, bubbling paint and a paint job the showed black ink marks under the clear, they want me to take my car because the say it is good. I did not know that a good paint job is one that has rust hidden underneath and it is starting to show. I proved them that the bubbling is rust under the paint by sanding the area myself and then they said that since the car is over 20 years old you can expect that rust. They managed to damage some of my interior parts too. Bottom line, if you need to paint a car and you are considering Maaco, you are better off doing it with a paint brush behind your house because you know what you can expect. I have never heard so many lies in my life. One more thing, the corporate office is worst the franchise. That is my Macco nightmare.
Was this review helpful?
Read 2 Replies
Add reply
Review Link:
User Replies:
Close comments
Posted by Ponie on 2005-08-20:
You have my empathy. Several years ago it took me 7 months of working with the Better Business Bureau, to get a complete refund of their highest end paint job on my convertible. Although I didn't have the many complaints you do, the main one was something you've encountered: bubbling paint on a surface rust spot. Guess Maaco doesn't know how to remove a very small spot of rust and make the paint stick properly. Each time they redid it, the bubbled area got larger. I wish you luck. You might go the same route I did by contacting the Better Business Bureau.
Posted by DC1847 on 2009-11-09:
The owner of the Mercedes could have used his warranty at any other Maaco IF he indeed had repairs done. The shop in question (Lake Park) is now run by a new franchisee who had owned another shop for eight years in Lake Park as well. He never had any complaints and none since becoming a Maaco franchisee. The owner of the Mercedes is welcome to bring his vehicle to the Lake Park location for proper repairs under his warranty.
Close comments
Add reply
Next Page >
Top of Page
Next Page >
Consumer Resources
Company Responses
Site Rules
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
Contact Us


text:
District attorneys looking into White's anonymous online comments
Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone and his counterpart in Harrisburg are working together to determine if state Rep. Jesse White committed any crimes while posting anonymous comments on various Internet message boards.
Vittone said he is taking the "appropriate steps" upon receiving several complaints after White admitted to posting anonymous comments from numerous aliases. He would not elaborate on whether they have found any evidence of criminal activity.
"I'm aware of the situation," Vittone said.
Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico echoed that statement and said he is working closely with Vittone to see if any of the comments were posted by White in Harrisburg. Even if he did, Marsico said it's unclear if White broke any laws.
"We agreed to work together as this process unfolds," Marsico said. "All I've seen to this point are the media reports. Whether some criminal activity occurred is unknown."
White acknowledged that he posted comments on a Marcellus Shale blog and the Observer-Reporter attacking some constituents who support natural gas drilling.
Meanwhile, White met with Democratic House Minority Leader Frank Dermody on June 3 to discuss the situation. Democratic Party leaders would not elaborate on what was discussed during the private meeting.
White said on June 5 that he has not been contacted by either district attorney and signaled that he's ready to move forward from the controversy and concentrate on his job.
"I'm moving forward and focusing on my legislative duties," White said.
State Republican Party leaders could not be reached for comment.
State Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, said he expects some of the complaints against White will be taken up in civil court. Solobay was among those attacked by White in the anonymous posts. Democratic House attorneys are reviewing case law to give them direction on how to respond to the situation, Solobay said.
Staff writer Scott Beveridge contributed to this report.
District attorneys looking into White's anonymous online comments
- Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
- Any poster that insults,threatens or verbally abuses or another member,uses defamatory language,or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
- Users who violate the Terms of service or any commenting rules will be banned
- Please stay on topic."Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted
- To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of service
- To report breaches of the Terms of service use the report abuse button
There Are Comments.
'Heaven Can Wait' (35)
South Fayette in the wrong in bully case (29)
Wiles qualifies for nationals (28)
Page turns caddie job into scholarship cash (27)
Canon-McMillan approves redistricting plan (86)
Fundraiser - April 23 (79)
Proud of international baccalaureate education (69)
South Fayette in the wrong in bully case (58)
Mt. Lebanon signals need to be upgraded (51)
Mt. Lebanon assessments grossly unfair (3)
Lebo rifle space still in limbo (3)
USC residents get a lot for their tax dollars (3)
Charges on South Fayette bully victim to be dropped (1)
Air quality a concern (1)
The Almanac what
you think!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Obi-Dan-Kenobi, on 12 August 2012 - 05:40 AM, said:
Yeah that's right, Rizvan is actually my older brother and this acappella is off his E.P. 'Gemini' which you can download for free here: http://bit.ly/OaeN4p - Apologies for the blatant plug in but Im just trying to get him a bit more international exposure with this round haha sorry guys, that was my hidden agenda. Heres his FB: https://www.facebook.../northcityrizzy
Hearing some dope beats so far with good structure. Looking forward to hearing the rest. GL.


text:
Order status
Shopping help
Need Help?
We want to give you the best buying experience possible on the Internet.
Click a question below to view the answer.
Order Information
What is my order status?
What payment methods can I use?
Should I use spaces or dashes when I enter my credit card number?
Does my billing address have to match the address on file with my credit card?
Why is my credit card being rejected?
When will my credit card be charged?
How will the charge appear on my credit card?
Do I have to pay sales tax?
How do I get a copy of my invoice?
What do I do if I forgot my password?
How will you know where and how to send my physical product?
Shipping Information
Has my order shipped?
Do you ship to my country?
When will my backorder ship?
Can I change my shipping address?
Can I change my shipping method?
What are the shipping costs/timeframes?
Technical and Warranty Support
How do I get technical or warranty support for my product?
Why do I need to set my browser to accept cookies?
Are cookies a security risk?
How do I set up my browser to accept cookies?
Quick Order Look Up
Quick Order Look Up
Order Number:
Forgotten your Password?
Returns and Cancellations
What is your refund policy?
How do I request a refund?
How do I cancel my order?
When will my credit appear on my credit card?
Privacy and Security
What is your privacy policy?
What is the Digital River Secure & Virus Free Protection?
Still need help?
Contact Customer Service
Contact Sales Support
Sales Support
020 3014 0783
Mon – Fri 9am – 5.30pm


text:
More Information About Ulaanbaatar Travel
- Our Ulaanbaatar hotels page lists the most popular hotels and gives you the ability to filter and get real-time rates from multiple hotel providers.
- Looking for a cheap rental car in Ulaanbaatar? Visit our Ulaanbaatar Car Rentals page to help you find a rental car for your trip to Ulaanbaatar.
- Looking for airline fees? See what airlines are charging for extra baggage, meals, pets, unaccompanied minor, or seat assignments.
- KAYAK Mobile Travel Apps help you to find flights, book hotels, and rent cars from your smart phone or tablet. Available for iPhone, Android, iPad, Windows Mobile 7, and Kindle.
KAYAK searches hundreds of sites to find the cheapest flights to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia). Get the best price for your airline ticket to Ulaanbaatar! Here's how it works. Search KAYAK for a flight to Ulaanbaatar. Sort, filter, and compare results on one web page. Then book your flight ticket direct on the airline or travel agent site of your choice!
Cheap Ulaanbaatar Flights
These are the cheapest flights found by KAYAK users in the past 48 hours.


text:
Lancashire's final pre-season friendly ended in a low-key draw at Old Trafford when the home side were bowled out for 181 in their first innings in reply to Durham's impressive 349 for 7 declared.
On the brighter side of life, however, Jimmy Anderson top scored with 34 and also confirmed his return to fitness after the injury he suffered on England duty in South Africa, and Paul Horton and Ashwell Prince both batted usefully to make 30 each.
Overall, though, the failures of several other batsmen made it a disappointing conclusion to a programme of matches that has been full of encouraging signs for Old Trafford supporters and Head Coach Peter Moores accepted that his side had been second best to the champions over the two days.
"I don't think we played as well as could have yesterday," he said. "We weren't as aggressive in the field as we normally are and that's an area we'll look to tighten up on before Thursday.
"To give Durham credit they bowled well today and we played some loose shots and that's also something we'll also look to tighten up on. I think we'd be disappointed over the two days that we didn't play better but we're also realistic that we play a practice game to get ourselves ready to go on Thursday."
However, the travails of a couple of bad days in the office will fade pretty quickly if Lancashire make a good start against Warwickshire in next Thursday's Championship match. More serious by far is the long term injury suffered by Gary Keedy who was due to have an operation on his broken collarbone on Friday evening.
"It's a real shame for Gary because he's been bowling really well, and unfortunately, it's a nasty injury," said Moores. "Hopefully, within two to three weeks he'll be able to start doing some training and stuff like that, but it's a long term injury because the shoulder's got to settle down and get strong again."
While Keedy is making what everyone hopes is a swift recovery, Moores believes that young slow left-armers Stephen Parry and Simon Kerrigan can play key roles for the Red Rose side. Nor did the Old Trafford coach rule out using Steven Croft's off-spin as the season unfolds.
However, the most obvious like-for-like replacements for Keedy are either Parry, who played two Championship games last season, or Simon Kerrigan, who has yet to play first-class cricket.
"We're lucky in some ways in that we've got Stephen Parry who played quite a lot of first team cricket last season," said Moores, "but we've also got Simon Kerrigan who bowled beautifully to take six wickets in the pre-season game against Yorkshire in Barbados. And we could also use Steven Croft's off-spin.
"We've got some good options on the staff and it will create opportunities for somebody else. Both Simon and Steven have developed, they're both emerging players, they've both got natural strengths and they're keen to make their mark in county cricket. "Stephen Parry stood up to the pressures of playing first team cricket last season while Simon bowled a long spell on his first team debut in Barbados and created problems for some experienced players and that bodes well for the future. Crofty's an option because when he gets it right, he get's real shape on the ball."
Whoever Moores chooses to replace Keedy has a big job on his hands. The 35-year old spinner was an ever-present in the 2009 Championship side, taking 42 wickets in 16 games and often playing an important role in other bowlers' successes when batsmen attempted to escape the shackles he had placed on them.
But after a tough day for Lancashire, Moores did not attempt to disguise his delight at Jimmy Anderson's successful return. "Jimmy's come through really well and bowled beautifully in his last spell," he said. "By then, he was hitting his length, hitting his areas and had a nice easy rhythm."
Paul Edwards
Photo: Simon Pendrigh
(c) Lancashire CCC Ltd


text:
Straight Hair
Starting at $149
Add silky straight Indian hair to your crown and glory. This clip on closure is an easy solution to feeling complete. Natural Virgin #1b color. More info
Starting at $179
In stock and ready to ship straight hair, available in a myriad of colors. Our unique coloring process will be a hit with your current hair color. Dress to impress! More info
Starting at $69
This skin weft is perfect for adding a little bit of volume wherever you need it. Each strip is 15" long and can be easily applied with any hair extension glue or tape. More info
Starting at $129
Silky straight closure piece with a Swiss lace base, what more could your crown ask for? This Indian hair has a natural straight texture for a sleek look. Natural #1b Color. More info
Starting at $60
Experience the wonder of Silky straight pre-taped hair extensions. The application is simple, just peel the backside of the tape and apply near your scalp. More info
Starting at $34
Naturally straight "grade A" Indian Remy hair makes for amazing I-tipped or U-tipped extensions. I-tips are commonly used for micro-links. Please note: Color is natural #1B (off black/dark brown) More info
Starting at $139
Silky straight virgin Indian hair that gets better and better with each wash and condition. Enjoy pure Indian hair weave bliss with this amazing product. Please note: Color #1B is virgin. More info
Starting at $159
Experience an easy to apply straight human hair weave, that doesn't have to be "weaved" in! This product uses fusion hair rings which are attached directly to the weft, making it easy to apply and remove. More info
Starting at $179
Starting at $424
Sale: $381.60
Save: 10% off
Starting at $169
The Volumizer gives you instant length of volume in just 6 clips. This revolutionary Straight hair Clip On Piece is made of 100% pure virgin Indian hair, prepare to be amazed! More info
Starting at $179
Yearning for the look that mimics your own African American hair texture? Our Straight Yaki texture will extend your beautiful natural locks. Flat iron for a more silky and attractive appearance. More info
Starting at $110
This straight bulk hair can be used for braiding hair, tree braids, or making your own wefts. There's nothing better than pure virgin Indian hair for your install. Please note: Color is natural #1B (off black/dark brown). More info
Featured Products


text:
Do you suffer from everyday aches and pains? There are some easy ways you can prevent the most common types of pain.
We were joined by postural specialist Vivian Eisenstadt. Vivian is the founder of Prevent The Pain Therapy, Inc., a physical therapy and wellness center offering personalized programs that address all aspects of pain.
She came in today to show Maria and Tony how to prevent the some of the most common types of pain that result from everyday habits many of us have developed.
The 5 most common complaints:1. Back pain2. Neck & upper shoulder pain with associated headaches and tingling in the arms3. Carpal tunnel syndrome4. Knee pain5. Plantar Fasciitis (pain in the heel)
For more information, check our Prevent The Pain Therapy Inc. Official Website
Prevent The Pain Therapy, Inc.8818 Saturn St Los Angeles, CA 90035(310) 623-4444
KMSP-TV11358 Viking DriveEden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone: (952) 944-9999Fax: (952) 942-0455


text:
Women's Clothing
Rock stars and bankers... Dress to impress!
Sort 278 Items by:
filter by
Women's ClothingWomen's Dress Shirts Women's Fashion Forward Women's Golf & Polo Shirts Women's Outerwear Women's Sweaters & Vests Women's T's & Tanks
filter by$0.00 to $34.00 $34.00 to $66.00 $66.00 to $98.00 $98.00 to $130.00 $130.00 And Over
filter by24-Hour RocketShip™ 2-Day RocketShip™ 3-Day RocketShip™
Rush Service
filter byAdidas Golf Alo Alternative Anvil Ashworth® Authentic Pigment Bella Callaway Champion Chestnut Hill Columbia® Devon & Jones District District Made District Threads Eddie Bauer® First Ascent® Gildan Hanes Harriton J. America Munsingwear New Red House Next Level Nike Golf Ogio Port & Company Port Authority Signature Port Authority® Red House Sport-tek UltraClub
Professional women's clothing are popular items for companies use to promote their brand identity and image in the corporate arena. Clothes meant to provide a clean, uniform look for all employees many times don't account for the uniqueness of the female form. Often resulting in oversized shirts that make women look frumpy and unkempt, you can avoid this occurrence and make sure all of your employees look professional by finding corresponding items of wholesale clothing for both sexes. At Pinnacle Promotions, we have a wide selection of personalized clothing ranging from corporate styles, athletic items and more, some solely designed just for females. We even have maternity apparel with comfortable stretch fabric, adjustable back ties, and hemlines that are designed to stay even throughout all stages of the pregnancy!


text:
Q: What is the lawful presence law?
A: The law requires anyone applying for a Maryland driver's license, identification card or a learner's permit to prove that he or she is in the United States lawfully and meets all of the other requirements (Maryland resident, certificate of driving school completion for a driver's license, etc.)
Q: Why did Maryland pass the lawful status law?
A: The federal REAL ID Act of 2005 and its associated regulations have a January 1, 2010 deadline for material compliance of the initial 18-benchmark standards. The law and regulations specifies that states must verify an applicant's lawful status in the United States. Licenses and identification cards from states that are not in compliance will not be accepted by federal agencies for official purposes such as boarding airplanes and entering federal buildings.
Q: When does the law take effect?
A: The law takes effect June 1, 2009.
Q: Can an individual obtain a learner's permit, driver's license, or identification (ID) card if he/she cannot provide documentation that proves lawful presence?
A: After June 1, 2009, the individual will not be eligible for either a Maryland driver's license, identification card, or learner's permit without proof of lawful presence.
Q: Will Maryland honor out-of-country appointments that have already been scheduled?
A: All appointments through May, 30, 2009 will be honored.
Q: What do I need to bring with me to get my license or identification card renewed after June 1, 2009?
A: If you have already provided a verified SSN to the MVA, no additional documentation will be needed to renew your driver's license or reissue your ID card after June 1st. If you have not provided the MVA with a verified SSN you must bring documentation of your SSN to the MVA in order to renew. If you are not eligible for a SSN, you must provide satisfactory evidence that you are not eligible for a SSN but that you have lawful status in the United States.
Q: How do I know whether or not my SSN has been verified with the MVA?
A: If you do not have a verified SSN on file, you will receive notification in the mail from the MVA.
Q: Can individuals who already have a Maryland driver's license, identification card, or learner's permit, and cannot provide proof that they are in the U.S. legally, renew their licenses and identification cards?
A: All Maryland driver's license, permit and identification card holders prior to April 19, 2009, can renew them until June 30, 2015; these cards will not be accepted by federal agencies for official purposes. After that, individuals must prove they are in the U.S. lawfully in order to renew.
This web page of frequently asked questions will be updated as more information on the new law becomes available.


text:
As a senior:
As a junior:
As a sophomore:
As a freshman:
Before JMU:
Getting to know Auburn...
Why did you choose JMU?
What are your goals for the 2010 season?
What is your major/minor and why did you choose it?
What are your favorite things to do off the field?
What is the best class you have taken at JMU?
Where is your favorite place you have visited and where would you like to visit?
What do you want to do after college?
Where is your favorite place to eat on campus at JMU?
What is your lucky number?
Who or what is your favorite...


text:
Business-grade, full-featured voice service is only a phone call away. Just call Cox Business, and partner with a true local provider. You'll get the reliable service you need, the customized package you want and the ability to keep your own phone numbers as well as your equipment. Handle business transactions with ease and keep your customers satisfied.
Serious choices, easy decisions. Cox Digital Telephone® offers you a choice of packages and calling features, so you can customize your solution to put the right tools at your employees' fingertips. We'll help you gauge your call patterns and design a package for today's requirements, with scalability as your business grows or your situation dictates.
Switching is simple. Whether you need a single line or have dozens already in place, we'll make the changeover seamless. You can keep your phone numbers as well as your equipment, whether it's your old desk phones or a large PBX system, so you'll avoid the disruption of missed calls due to phone number changes.
Go local, go long. Just as your business connections span the horizon from near to far, so do our phone services. Start with reliable local service, domestic and international long distance, toll free service, directory assistance and Cox Voice Mail for your business needs.
Your phone line, your bottom line. Our simply structured plans and options are competitively priced, giving you more value for your money compared to the local incumbent.
Dependable day in, day out. Our network protects against communications failure by using fully redundant architecture with battery and generator backup. Plus we monitor our networks around the clock to make sure you're getting the best possible service at all times.
Bundle for efficiency. As an established provider of bundled services, including Cox Business InternetSM and Cox Business Video, we can tailor a package that meets all your communications needs, while providing you the added convenience of one local team and one consolidated bill for all services.
Now that you know what Cox Digital Telephone offers, learn about each of our packages, features and a-la-carte options on our features page. Or call us and find out how we can tailor a package to fit you today.


text:
William Dyce, 1806 - 1864. Artist 1832
- Scottish Art
In this intimate and immediate watercolour, Scott shows his friend William Dyce sketching in a gondola, with the domes and towers of Venice behind him. The blanket over his knees suggests that it is a chilly day out on the lagoon. This was the Aberdonian artist's third trip to Italy and the study of early Italian painting was a crucial influence on his own style. Later in his career he was associated with the younger group of artists known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, who shared his delight in meticulous detail.


text:
25 Elm Street, Suite A
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Phone: 860-563-8800 Or 877-927-8387
Fax: 860-563-8805
Normal working hours are 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday. In an effort to better serve the veteran and family members, upon request Vet Centers will provide services after normal work hours and/or on weekends.
Veterans Crisis Line:
1-800-273-8255 (Press 1)
Social Media
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington DC 20420
Last updated February 24, 2014.